H I M A C H A L    P R A D E S H    E D I T I O N

Govt urged to review decision on cement plant
Shimla, March 23
The Jai Shri Baryogi Joint Action Committee, apex body of various local organisations opposing the cement plant being set up in the Karsog area by the multinational Lafarge company, has urged the government to review the decision in view of its adverse environmental fallout on ecologically sensitive area having a wildlife sanctuary in close vicinity.

Vohra recollects time with Sobha Singh
Dharamsala, March 23
The Governor of Jammu and Kashmir NN Vohra, who was on a private visit to the district, remembered the time he was posted as SDM, Palampur, as a young IAS officer.

Antique idol recovered from smugglers
Dharamsala, March 23
The Kangra police has nabbed two antique smugglers and recovered a Lord Mahavir idol, likely belonging to 16 or 17th century AD. The alleged smugglers, Atul Gupta and Rajeev Gupta, were carrying the idol in a Mohindra Balero vehicle. The police, on a tip-off, nabbed the smugglers near the education board office at Dharamsala last evening.

State to strengthen de-addiction centres
Solan, March 23
The state government will strengthen all de-addiction centres by bringing qualitative improvement in their functioning. This was stated by Health Minister Dr Rajiv Bindal while presiding over a state-level seminar on de-addiction here today. The seminar was organised under the aegis of the Information and Public Relations Department.

HP seeks central funds for heli-taxi service
Shimla, March 23
The state government will now be approaching the Planning Commission to provide 75 per cent viability gap funding on the pattern of north-eastern states for take-off of its ambitious heli-taxi project, aimed at attracting high-end tourists to the state.

‘Virbhadra failed to plead for package extension’
Shimla, March 23
The BJP said Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh, instead of pleading Himachal’s case for extension of special industrial package, was blaming the neighbouring states only to cover up his own failure in protecting the state’s interest.

Court seeks info on ways to protect trees
Shimla, March 23
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the central government’s Inspector General of Forest and the Central Regulatory Commission to inform the court about ways and means to protect trees.

Retd judge gets threat calls
Shimla, March 23
The police has registered a case of threat on the complaint of High Court Judge Justice KC Sood (retd) who has been receiving calls from a resident of Gwalior. According to SSP RM Sharma, it was on the complaint of Justice Sood that a case under Section 506 of the IPC was registered at the Dhalli police station yesterday.

3 killed in accident
Shimla, March 23
Three persons were killed and 19 seriously injured when a Balero camper fell down 500 metres into a deep gorge near Shimlo, close to Dhami. The deceased includes Kanshi Ram, Tulsi Ram, residents of Jania village and the driver Rajinder, hailidng from Dochi. The ill-fated vehicle (HP-63-0236) was on its way from Jania to Palang Devta near Sunni.


The injured under treatment at the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital at Shimla on Tuesday. A Tribune photo

Package extension not in present form: NGOs
Shimla, March 23
The Himalaya Niti Abhiyan (HNA), apex forum of non-government organisations, has urged the Centre not to extend the industrial package in the existing form as it had not helped the state at all and only ruined the ecologically fragile hill environment. It has demanded an alternative package to encourage environment-friendly agro-based industry, information technology, biotechnology and cottage industry which did not require huge land, power, water and other natural resources.

Kulbhushan Upmanyu, an environmental activist, who is heading the Himalaya Niti Abhiyan, addressing the media at Shimla on Tuesday. A Tribune photo

TB cure for multi-drug resistant patients
Hamirpur, March 23
The state health department will soon start category four phase of tuberculosis (TB) treatment for multi-drug resistant (MDR) patients on the guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO) throughout the state.

Plea to consider eco-tourism ancillary to forest conservation
Shimla, March 23
Keen to promote eco-tourism on large-scale, the state government has urged the Centre to consider it as activity related and ancillary to forest conservation. The government has already recognised eco-tourism as a forest activity and included it in the rules of business. It has also formulated a policy for its promotion. Himachal is not alone, some other states like Kerala, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, which have potential for eco-tourism are also pursuing the matter with the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

290 firms to get power before March 31
Solan, March 23
With the state electricity board failing to meet power requirements of investors, a high-level team of board officials today directed its field officials to make about 290 units functional before March 31 by either granting partial load or night load.

Tributes paid to martyrs
Mandi, March 23
The Indian People’s Theatre Association(IPTA) today organised the martyrdom day of freedom fighters Bhagat Singh Sukhdev and Raj Guru. A colourful cultural competition was held for children to mark the event.

Efforts to revive milk federation a success
Hamirpur, March 23
Chairman of the State Milk Federation ML Joshi said the federation had made big achievements during the past two years under the BJP regime. Talking to mediapersons here today, he said, “The milk federation was on the verge of collapse when sustained efforts were  made to revive its activities and today it has made a profit of about Rs 50 crore.”

Govt urged to review decision on cement plant
Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 23
The Jai Shri Baryogi Joint Action Committee, apex body of various local organisations opposing the cement plant being set up in the Karsog area by the multinational Lafarge company, has urged the government to review the decision in view of its adverse environmental fallout on ecologically sensitive area having a wildlife sanctuary in close vicinity.

The committee, which met under the chairmanship of its president Ganga Singh Thakur here today, accused the government and the local administration of siding with the company and maintained that notices issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act to landowners and for the acquisition of the ancient Baryogi temple were illegal. Demanding immediate withdrawal of the notices, it alleged that the company had initiated work on the project without obtaining the mandatory permission from the concerned central ministry. Drilling was carried out at 42 places as part of investigations from June, 2007, and April, 2009, whereas permission was granted to the company only in May, 2009.

Instead of taking action against the company for violating the law, the government agencies were helping it in various ways, causing widespread resentment among the people, he said. The company had abandoned the site of limestone deposits, identified by the geological department, and shifted to Talhain village on its own. He demanded action not only against the company, but also against the divisional forest officer.

Ganga Singh pointed out that the project was awarded on the basis of a survey carried out almost three decades ago and the ground realities had completely changed since. Many forest areas and even wildlife sanctuary were not shown in the maps. The Majathal sanctuary was only 8 km away and, as such, a cement plant could not be allowed to come up in the area. More so, because it was the natural habitat for highly endangered vultures, he added.

Vohra recollects time with Sobha Singh
Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, March 23
The Governor of Jammu and Kashmir NN Vohra, who was on a private visit to the district, remembered the time he was posted as SDM, Palampur, as a young IAS officer.

He also visited the Sobha Singh Art Gallery at Andretta village, about around 11 km from Palampur. While talking to The Tribune, secretary-general of the Sobha Singh art gallery, Hirday Paul Singh said that the Jammu and Kashmir Governor greatly appreciated masterpieces of Sobha Singh.

He termed him the portrait-painter par excellence. He said since his death in 1986, the country had not produced a portrait-painter who could match the excellence of saint- artist Sobha Singh. He recalled his association with the artist when he was posted as a civil servant from 1961 to 1963 at Palampur and used to frequently interact with the great artist at his studio.

The Governor remembered that the art connoisseur and another prominent civil servant Dr M.S. Randhawa and American ambassador to India Galbreth used to visit the artist in connection with collection of material related to Kangra Kalam miniature paintings and folk songs.

Vohra also keenly observed the last paintings by the artist and visited his studio also. He was presented a laminated original reprint of famous ‘Her Grace the Gaddan’ by Bibi Gurcharan Kaur, daughter of the artist and literature on the artist by gallery’s secretary-general. The Governor appreciated the family members for meticulously maintaining the art gallery.

Antique idol recovered from smugglers
Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, March 23
The Kangra police has nabbed two antique smugglers and recovered a Lord Mahavir idol, likely belonging to 16 or 17th century AD. The alleged smugglers, Atul Gupta and Rajeev Gupta, were carrying the idol in a Mohindra Balero vehicle. The police, on a tip-off, nabbed the smugglers near the education board office at Dharamsala last evening.

Kangra SP Atul Fulzele, when contacted, said the accused belonged to Bandla village near Palampur and were running a cattle feed factory there. “We expect to crack an inter-state gang involved in smuggling of antiques from the state with the arrest of the accused. They will be produced in the court and the police would seek their remand for further investigations. The antecedents of the recovered idol would also be verified later,” he said.

However, efforts of the police to get a witness in the case raised a controversy. The police officials, last evening, picked up Joginder Kumar, the watchman of the education board, to depose as witness in the case.

The board employees have, however, reacted sharply to the police’s move. In a separate press release issued here today, the employees’ union alleged that police personnel in plain clothes picked up the watchman at 9 pm last night. He was taken to a police station and made to sign on plain papers. He was released after three hours, the union alleged. The association has condemned the attitude of the police and threatened to move the Human Rights Commission.

The SP, however, maintained that the watchman was an eyewitness to the arrest of the accused.

“Since he was a witness in the case and a government employee, we requested him to depose as witness. I am surprised that the employees’ union has given a totally different colour to the story,” he said.

However, the way the watchman has retracted from his statement, it might weaken the case of the police in court.

State to strengthen de-addiction centres
Our Correspondent

Solan, March 23
The state government will strengthen all de-addiction centres by bringing qualitative improvement in their functioning. This was stated by Health Minister Dr Rajiv Bindal while presiding over a state-level seminar on de-addiction here today. The seminar was organised under the aegis of the Information and Public Relations Department.

Bindal said at present de-addiction centres were functioning at the IGMC, Shimla, Tanda Medical College, Kangra, Dharamsala and Nagwain.

“Rehabilitation of addicts is the government’s priority. In fact, HP has been adjudged as the best state in anti-tobacco awakening campaign in the country,” Bindal said. The menace of de-addiction could not be eradicated without the active participation and assistance of each section of society as it was assuming an alarming proportion, especially among the youth, he added.

The Department of Information and Public Relations was striving hard to instil healthy values among schoolchildren by implementing several awakening programmes.

Irwin Khanna, a senior journalist, in his keynote address said the media was required to shoulder a greater responsibility by carrying campaigns for de-addiction and it could play a proactive role by launching regular campaigns against all types of addictions.

BD Sharma, director, Information and Public Relations, while welcoming the audience, said the department had launched the de-addiction campaign in 1995 throughout the state and several programmes were being implemented at educational institutions to motivate children against various types of addictions.

HP seeks central funds for heli-taxi service
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 23
The state government will now be approaching the Planning Commission to provide 75 per cent viability gap funding on the pattern of north-eastern states for take-off of its ambitious heli-taxi project, aimed at attracting high-end tourists to the state.

Even though three companies had sent in their bids in response to the expression of interest floated by the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation some time back but now the government has decided to start afresh. The project is now open for operators who seek prior permission from the Director-General, Civil Aviation (DGCA), for launching the project.

The state government had sought viability gap funding from the Centre and now the Planning Commission has asked for entire details of the scheme. “We are seeking 75 per cent viability gap funding from the Centre on the pattern of north-eastern states as subsidised air fare is a must for promoting tourism,” confirmed Arun Sharma, Director, Tourism.

The matter could, however, once again be placed before the Cabinet as the process is virtually being started all over again. The helli taxi project had earlier been delayed because of the model code of conduct on account of elections and now a complete rethink could delay its start once again.

The Tourism Department has sought viability gap funding of about Rs 20 crore for a period of three years from the Planning Commission. Efforts of the state government in the past to get subsidised air fare on the pattern of North East and J&K has not come through.

The Tourism and Civil Aviation Department has identified 57 helipads all over the state which will finally be linked by helli-taxi service. To begin with, the department intends to start flights connecting Delhi, Chandigarh, Shimla, Kullu-Manali, Dharamsala, Chamba and tribal areas of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti. The government is keen to have an agreement with an air operator who is willing to press his own choppers and will obtain all the clearances required for the service.

‘Virbhadra failed to plead for package extension’
Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 23
The BJP said Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh, instead of pleading Himachal’s case for extension of special industrial package, was blaming the neighbouring states only to cover up his own failure in protecting the state’s interest.

In a statement issued here today, BJP spokesperson Ganesh Dutt said it was very wrong on part of the Union minister to blame Chief Minister PK Dhumal for creating hurdles in extension of the package.

“Virbhadra must stop blaming the Chief Minister or the neighbouring states and must pursue Himachal’s case with the Prime Minister,” he advised.

He said it was former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee who had given Himachal a special industrial package till 2013 but it was reduced to 2010 by the UPA regime.

The BJP leader said in case Virbhadra Singh had forcefully taken up the matter with the Centre there was no reason why Himachal’s package could not have been extended at least till 2013 if not 2020 like Jammu and Kashmir.

Court seeks info on ways to protect trees
Legal Correspondent

Shimla, March 23
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the central government’s Inspector General of Forest and the Central Regulatory Commission to inform the court about ways and means to protect trees.

The court passed this order on an issue pertaining to laying down of transmission lines by JP Hydro Power Limited on the banks of the Sutlej.

While passing this order, a division bench comprising Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjay Karol, directed the respondent central government officials to inform the court about the authority and basis of determining the height of the transmission towers.

The court framed seven questions in this regard including the scope of changing the height of towers in hilly area, height of transmission lines and what type of clearance was required between top of the tree and transmission lines.

The court also observed that the permissions were subjected to condition that user agency should ensure minimum felling of trees and damage to the flora and fauna of the area.

Retd judge gets threat calls
Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 23
The police has registered a case of threat on the complaint of High Court Judge Justice KC Sood (retd) who has been receiving calls from a resident of Gwalior. According to SSP RM Sharma, it was on the complaint of Justice Sood that a case under Section 506 of the IPC was registered at the Dhalli police station yesterday.

“After identifying the zone from where the calls were being made, we got in touch with the Gwalior SP who has identified the caller from the number and suitable action is being taken,” he said.

3 killed in accident
Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 23
Three persons were killed and 19 seriously injured when a Balero camper fell down 500 metres into a deep gorge near Shimlo, close to Dhami. The deceased includes Kanshi Ram, Tulsi Ram, residents of Jania village and the driver Rajinder, hailidng from Dochi. The ill-fated vehicle (HP-63-0236) was on its way from Jania to Palang Devta near Sunni.

The seriously injured persons have been admitted to Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC).

Package extension not in present form: NGOs
Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 23
The Himalaya Niti Abhiyan (HNA), apex forum of non-government organisations, has urged the Centre not to extend the industrial package in the existing form as it had not helped the state at all and only ruined the ecologically fragile hill environment. It has demanded an alternative package to encourage environment-friendly agro-based industry, information technology, biotechnology and cottage industry which did not require huge land, power, water and other natural resources.

Chairman of the HNA Kulbhushan Upmanyu said if the government allowed setting up of more steel and cement plants, it would spell doom for the state. Power was being purchased at higher rates from outside the state and supplied at lower rates to the industries. Diversion of agriculture and forest land was not only leading to sharp degradation of environment, but also making people landless and pushing them into quagmire of poverty, he added.

These units hardly generated any employment for the local people and only exploited the state’s resources, he added.

The state was already paying a price for its indiscriminate industrialisation after the grant of package as average temperature was shooting up sharply, snow and rain becoming increasingly scarce and water sources drying up. The government was not keen to enact the Forests Rights Act, whereas laws favouring industrialists were being implemented without even completing formalities, he said.

TB cure for multi-drug resistant patients
Dharam Prakash Gupta
Tribune News Service

Hamirpur, March 23
The state health department will soon start category four phase of tuberculosis (TB) treatment for multi-drug resistant (MDR) patients on the guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO) throughout the state.

Under this phase, MDR TB patients, who cannot be treated under the existing programme, will be treated with new medicines by keeping them in continuous phase of treatment and under intensive care.

Such patients cannot be treated with traditional medicines as they develop resistance to multiple drugs in their bodies and many of them die due to this reason.

According to sources, at present there are about 300 cases of MDR TB in the state who are in need of category four treatment.

The health department is already in the process of establishing two specialised laboratories at Dharampur in Solan district and at Tanda Medical College, where culture sampling and registrations of such patients would be made.

Under this treatment, the patient is given intense treatment for 24 to 27 months and frequent sputum and other tests are conducted. Mortality rate of such patients is reduced to 3 per cent following the treatment.

NGOs, working under this programme, would also be given enhanced honorarium from Rs 250 per case to Rs 2,500 and daily drug provider would establish treatment unit near the house of the patient to administer daily doze of medicine.

State TB programme officer Dr Naresh Gupta said, “We are in the process of establishing laboratories for culture sampling and will soon start category four treatments for such patients in the state.” 

Plea to consider eco-tourism ancillary to forest conservation
Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 23
Keen to promote eco-tourism on large-scale, the state government has urged the Centre to consider it as activity related and ancillary to forest conservation. The government has already recognised eco-tourism as a forest activity and included it in the rules of business. It has also formulated a policy for its promotion. Himachal is not alone, some other states like Kerala, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, which have potential for eco-tourism are also pursuing the matter with the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Special secretary from the ministry RH Khwaja visited the state recently and inspected some sites where eco-tourism activities are being carried out in partnership with private sector. At present there is no clarity on the issue and if the ministry accepts the plea of the states, it will come out with definite guidelines which will ensure uniformity across the country, points out Harsh Mittar, chief conservator for forests (eco-tourism).

Some issues like carrying capacity of sites like number of persons and cottages be permitted, are required to be addressed.

Eco-tourism activities are being carried out at 10 sites and expression of interest has been invited to offer five more sites. The Centre has sanctioned Rs 3.68 crore to the Tourism Department for the purpose out of which Rs 2.94 crore has been released to the Forest Department over the past two years. The eco-tourism activities at Narkanda and Shoja are being managed through the forest corporation and some others have been given to private parties.

Eco-tourism activities are proposed to be introduced at Habban, Triund, Mahasu and Khara Pathar where the department has rest houses or inspection huts. Once eco-tourism is recognised as ancillary to forest conservation the Forest Department will be able to integrate its awareness programme to educate people about flora and fauna.

The 14 eco-tourism societies formed under the divisional forest officers are being strengthened for the purpose. The purpose of the societies is to involve the local people in the activity and ensure that the area as whole benefits from it.

290 firms to get power before March 31
Ambika Sharma

Solan, March 23
With the state electricity board failing to meet power requirements of investors, a high-level team of board officials today directed its field officials to make about 290 units functional before March 31 by either granting partial load or night load.

These units spread in various industrial areas of the state, including Baddi, Barotiwala, Nalagarh, Kangra, Kala Amb, Parwanoo, Poanta Sahib, etc, had failed to get power despite the central industrial package period expiring on March 31.

Investors also rued that the lack of meter availability had delayed their operations and the board officials, therefore, decided that the Solan-based Maintenance and Testing wing would make meters available within four days.

The decision was taken at a grievance redress meeting organised at Baddi between the board officials comprising its chairman Shubash Negi, chief engineer (commercial) JP Kalta, member (technical) Rakesh Dhiman, member (operations) SK Chawdhary, chief engineer (south) DS Jamwal and SE (Solan) Rajesh Thakur and investors of various industrial areas.

Kalta said 10 pending cases were granted load sanctions today as their permissions had been delayed due to various reasons in the past. In addition to this, 10 cases were approved for diesel generation (DG) sets and this had taken the total number of DG users in the state to 240.

While denying any delay in granting power, he said there was an influx of cases in March as the central industrial package had failed to get extension till now. The board now endeavoured to make the units functional before March 31, so that these units could avail benefits of the package.

The officials later inspected the progress of the Uparla-Nangal-based sub-station whose commissioning had been delayed since December and had led to power shortage in the Nalagarh industrial area.

President of Nalagarh Industries’ Association Prem Sharma stressed that timely availability of power would ease out the problems of the investors who were already rushing against time to initiate their operations.

Tributes paid to martyrs
Tribune News Service

Mandi, March 23
The Indian People’s Theatre Association(IPTA) today organised the martyrdom day of freedom fighters Bhagat Singh Sukhdev and Raj Guru. A colourful cultural competition was held for children to mark the event.

The participants observed two-minute silence in honour of the martyrs. They later participated in patriotic song and dance competition which was held at Indira Market Ghanta Ghar.

IPTA convener Lawan Thakur said the idea behind the event was to remember sacrifices made by the freedom fighters and take the message of patriotism to the youth of the state. “We have urged the state government to make such programmes a regular event,” he added.

Efforts to revive milk federation a success
Tribune News Service

Hamirpur, March 23
Chairman of the State Milk Federation ML Joshi said the federation had made big achievements during the past two years under the BJP regime. Talking to mediapersons here today, he said, “The milk federation was on the verge of collapse when sustained efforts were made to revive its activities and today it has made a profit of about Rs 50 crore.”

He said, “Basic value of milk has been increased by Rs 4 per kg during this period and several activities are undertaken at many places.”

“The federation is also supplying nutrient mixture and milk powder to Social Justice and Women Empowerment Department and will soon establish a power milk manufacturing plant at Rampur, in Shimla district,” he added.

Joshi also thanked Chief Minister PK Dhumal for laying foundation stone of cattle feed plant of the federation on Wednesday at Bhalwani being set up with the cost of Rs 1.5 crore.